


Fun in the sun

by nea_writes



Category: D.Gray-man
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Gen, chicken fights are too fun for how ridiculous they are, shameless fluff and fun and good feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-08
Updated: 2016-08-08
Packaged: 2018-08-07 10:12:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,387
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7711096
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nea_writes/pseuds/nea_writes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The group have a pool party at Alma’s house. Just fluff and fun and ridiculous gay undertones.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Fun in the sun

**Author's Note:**

> Cursing courtesy of one Kanda Yuu, and, uh, the gay undertones of very close friends. Also chicken fights. And I, uh, just really like taking Kanda’s hair tie away hahaha Can be considered an Extra from Cave of Poppies.

The pool in Alma’s backyard was refreshing in the blazing summer heat, and, even better, completely isolated. Even Alma’s parents were gone, and as much as Allen loved Twi and Edgar he still didn’t feel _that_ comfortable around them. Bak, unfortunately, was there, but only so much as physically present. His mind was light-years away, focused on his grad work. Allen didn’t really get what he was working on, and one time when Bak had tried to explain it to him, Bak had looked so stressed Allen had just made him a cup of tea and left.

So, all in all, it was just them.

Lavi, as expected, jumped into the clear water the moment they came out the house, and Lenalee was settled into one of the lounge chairs, carefully applying the lotion Allen knew Lavi would regret not wearing later.

Link, too, was sitting on one of the lounge chairs, reading a book of all things. His hair was in his customary braid, and Allen already had vague plans in getting rid of it - namely, by throwing Link into the pool. How could you come to a pool party and sit and read of all things?

Bak didn’t count. Bak _had_ to ignore their fun for school, but it was summer vacation for them! Allen shook his head, exasperated. He hadn’t spent hours wheedling and cajoling Link into letting them come to this party for him to waste it like this.

Kanda, on the other stoic hand, was sitting in the shallows on the steps, fingertips idly tracing the tile beneath them. His head was tilted back despite the sun’s glaring rays, and his hair was undulating in the waves Alma created.

Alma was frolicking, leaping and pouncing and diving with all the energy of a ten year old versus his actual sixteen years.

Allen couldn’t help the contented smile. He loved this. He loved feeling so at ease that he only briefly hesitated at the thought of baring his arm. Unlike Lenalee, Allen had applied the sunscreen while he’d changed, and so he stepped down into the pool.

Kanda grunted at the small waves Allen made, but otherwise remained silent. _He’s gorgeous,_ Allen admitted. Kanda seemed to have entirely skipped the awkward adolescent phase, which was not fair at all considering Allen was still in it. But, to also be fair, Kanda worked out every day and ate like a Spartan. There was no fat to go straight to his face or over his muscles. _Lean,_ Allen thought. A good word to describe Kanda.

“It’s not fair, is it?” Lenalee asked dryly, rising from her chair and tossing the bottle onto it. “The girls are absolutely crazy about him.”

“Shut up,” Kanda said without bite. His eyes were still closed, long dark lashes - Allen swore - creating shadows on his cheekbones.

Lenalee sighed and came to stand by Allen, watching Lavi and Alma make a fool of themselves.

Alma, too, was very pretty. Not hot, like Kanda, or sexy, or even handsome. Alma was pretty. No one could deny it. Cute, pretty, adorable, all the words you could not use to describe Kanda could aptly be applied to Alma. Not that Alma seemed to mind. Once, Lavi had called him adorable and Alma had grinned wide as the sun in pleasure.

“Are you going to go in or not?” Kanda demanded, startling Allen. He blinked and realized Lenalee had joined the two in the pool. Glaring at Kanda, Allen stepped further down and then sat next to Kanda on the steps. The pool water smacked his chest with how robust the trio were playing, creating an odd distinction between the cool water and hot sun on his skin. Allen sighed into it, closing his eyes too.

“Aww, Allen!” Lavi cried not two seconds later, swimming closer. “Don’t be a wet towel like Yuu!” Kanda slit his eyes open at the name and skid his palm along the water, splashing Lavi in the face. Lavi shrieked with laughter and darted away before coming to swim on the side Kanda was not on. “Come on Allen!”

Allen considered for a moment, before grinning, cat-like. Kanda grunted in dismay beside him, and Allen laughed.

“Okay, Lavi,” Allen began, shifting down the steps further until only his head was above it. He relished the chilled sensation. “I will… but only if you can get Kanda out there, too.”

“What?” Kanda demanded, eyes slamming open. He shot forward until he sat ramrod straight. “Fuck off,” he said, already glaring at Lavi.

Lavi laughed and swam lightly over until he was between them. Allen grinned.

“I swear you stupid rabbit, if you get any closer…”

Before Kanda could finish Alma splashed into him, and Kanda grunted as his back bit into the step behind him.

“Yuu! Guess what!”

“Get the fuck off,” Kanda swore, pushing Alma away and leaning off the tile. He scowled as he rubbed his back.

“We’re gonna play Marco Polo!”

“What?” Lavi cried. “I thought we were going to chicken fight!”

“Fight?” Kanda asked, finally interested.

“We could chicken fight,” Lenalee finally interjected, swimming over to be by Allen’s side. “But Lavi you said no. You said Kanda would cheat.”

“What the fuck?’ Kanda demanded, incensed. "I would never cheat!”

Lavi looked confused and betrayed as he spoke, “Lenalee-! Babe! That was supposed to be between me and you!”

“You stupid rabbit, when have I ever cheated? You must’ve confused me with beansprout over there.”

“What?” Allen cried. “I haven’t even done anything!”

“Don’t lie to yourself Walker,” Link shot from his perch. Allen whirled around to glare at him. “It’s almost sad.”

Lavi burst into hysterical laughter and even Kanda was amused. “See beansprout? Even Two Spots agrees.”

“Kanda Yuu, you - and with your ridiculous name - are full of it,” Link said sourly, and Allen marveled. That was the closest Link had ever come to outright cursing anyone.

“My name is perfectly fine! It’s you damn Americans.” Kanda sneered, ignoring the small splashes Alma was making at his arm.

“Uh, Yuu - ah, shit! Kanda that went right in my face!” Lavi spluttered. “Anyways, Yu-uh-you - I said you! As in the pronoun! Fuck! You, uh, forgot America isn’t the only place that speaks English.”

Kanda settled backwards, lowering his arm that had threatened to splash more water into Lavi’s face. Alma laughed. “He doesn’t care,” He remarked. Allen frowned as he settled his gaze on Alma, and stretched across Kanda to reach him. He ignored the slick feeling of wet skin on skin and Kanda’s incensed growl, grasping Alma’s forearm with one hand to pull him closer and using his other to touch his upper arm.

“It’s gotten a lot less red,” Allen commented, fingers tracing the tattoo there. Alma giggled at the strange feeling. “Are you even allowed to have it pool water?”

“Uh, I think it’s healed enough to be fine,” Alma said. “Yuu’s looks fine, too,” Alma noted, nodding his head to Kanda’s forearm. Similar to Alma’s, on the underside of his arms Kanda had a cross. Allen darted a glance at Kanda’s and saw Alma was right.

“Lavi’s the only one who hasn’t got it,” Lenalee remarked, then, “and Link too.”

“Allen hasn’t either!” Lavi retorted, and Lenalee shook her head as Alma snorted.

“He already _has_ one,” Alma pointed at Allen’s hand and the cross, similar in shape to Alma’s and Kanda’s, there. “That was the whole point of it.”

Allen flushed red enough to match Lavi’s hair and Alma laughed, delighted. He ducked his head, looking at the scarred cross in his hand. It had never occurred to him that the reason for their tattoos was him. He remembered Lenalee’s laughter as she shook off Komui’s lecture when he saw the crosses on her shins, and how Alma had wrestled Kanda into it. He remembered feeling ridiculously left out when they never asked him to get one, too.

“You’re so cute!” Alma squealed.

“Shut up,” Allen said, though it was light and joking unlike Kanda’s usual choice of words. “I didn’t know that was why you three had gotten them. It… it took me by surprise.”

“Well, now you know,” Alma said, drifting even closer to Kanda, who was distracted by Lenalee’s soft inspection of his forearms. Without warning, Alma’s arm rose and threaded his fingers through Kanda’s hair, yanking out the hair tie. Kanda howled in shock, hands jerked up and pushing Lenalee back in surprise as he grasped at the softly falling hair.

“What the fuck!” Kanda yelled as Alma threw the tie to Lavi, who quickly swam away from Kanda. “Get back here you stupid rabbit!” Kanda darted after him, sliding seamlessly into the water. Lavi shrieked with what sounded like real fear to Allen and he swam further away, receding into the deep end.

Alma let loose loud peals of laughter and Lenalee shook her head. Allen was still mildly shocked by it all.

“Allen!” Lavi called, and he jerked his head up, then his hands to catch the small tie as Lavi threw it. He suddenly understood why Lavi was so desperate to get away from Kanda as the angry teen turned to Allen with death in his eyes.

“Beansprout,” Kanda growled, swimming towards him as his hair trailed in the water. “Give it to me or it’ll end up around your neck.”

Allen blinked down at the tie. It was the one that matched Alma’s earrings, and was more of a rope than anything else. He twirled one end of it around in the air contemplatively, then grinned up at Kanda. “How about… no?”

He reared his arm back, “Link! Catch!” The blond looked up startled from his book, and Allen had to commend his reaction time as he dropped the novel with a muted swear and caught the tie. “Wow, that was cool,” Allen commented, ignoring the glare Link sent his way.

“Don’t involve me in this,” Link retorted, twisting the rope around until it was coiled. He tossed it to Lavi, who was closest to him, and Kanda breathed out from his nose.

“Give it up, Kanda,” Lenalee said, wading in the water towards him. “Your hair is drenched already anyways.”

“It’s going to be such a damn pain to dry out,” Kanda complained, threading his fingers through his hair and away from where it clung to his shoulders.

“Oh, gross, Kanda, part of you is on me!” Allen cried as he peeled a long strand off his side where it stuck.

“Shut the fuck up. If the stupid rabbit hadn’t taken away my tie then it wouldn’t be there, now would it?”

“Uh, to be fair,” Lavi said, “Alma was the one who grabbed it.” He turned to Allen with a grin, “And, Allen, babe, you _totally_ agreed you’d come out when we got Kanda out, yeah?”

Allen groaned good-naturedly and waded further out. He shrieked when Alma splashed next to him, wrapping slick hands on his shoulders and making him giggle from shock. “Chicken fight!” Alma declared.

“Hell yeah!” Lavi said, turning to Kanda with bright eyes. Kanda stared back at him with a raised brow.

“Fuck no, you’re not getting on me,” Kanda spat, and instead of wilting Lavi considered the thought.

“Yuu’s right,” Alma said from over his shoulder. “Lavi is too big to get on Kanda. They’d fall over!” He laughed at the thought, and Allen laughed too. “I’ll climb on Yuu’s shoulders and Allen can get on Lavi’s!”

“What!” Allen squawked, twisting away from Alma to eye him incredulously. “Since when was I in this game?”

“Since the beginning,” Lavi snipped, gliding towards him through the water.

“No! No way! If we’re up against Kanda with you,” he pointed at Lavi, “then we’re definitely going to lose and I don’t want to get dunked!”

Kanda coughed a laugh and Lavi looked offended. “Dude! Thanks for the vote of confidence!” Allen merely shook his head.

“Come on Allen,” Alma wheedled, and Allen glanced at him, blanching. He closed his eyes, already knowing what was coming next…

“Beansprout, are you scared of losing?” Kanda challenged, a gleam in his eye at the prospect of dunking him.

 _Welp._ He couldn’t just ignored that, now could he? Ignoring Lenalee’s laughter, he squared his shoulders and swam the rest of the way towards Lavi, hovering hesitantly behind him.

“How does this even work?” He asked nervously, hands coming to rest on Lavi’s shoulders. Lavi snorted.

“Lemme duck down, then just climb onto my shoulders. Make it quick, beansprout.”

“Don’t call me that,” Allen muttered as Lavi squatted in the water. Nervously he stepped over Lavi, giggling at the strange sensation. He shrieked when Lavi rose suddenly, and he wobbled on top his shoulders. “No! No, stop! I’m going to fall, I’m totally going to fall!” He wrapped desperate hands around Lavi’s hair, and then Lavi was shouting on top Allen’s scared ones and Lenalee was dying on the pool side, gasping desperately through her laughter.

Alma settled on Kanda’s shoulders easily, cackling. “Oh my god, Allen you’re hilarious.”

Finally adjusting to the sudden height change, Allen glared. “That’s easy for you to say. You have _Kanda,_ he would dunk you as quick as he would Lenalee - which is to mean, he wouldn’t _at all._ I have _Lavi,”_ Allen slowly loosened his strangle-hold on Lavi’s hair, followed by his calves as Lavi smacked at them furiously. Lavi gulped air when Allen unwound his legs, choking.

“Dude, you’re acting worse than Lenalee did when we did this,” Lavi said, hands settling to grasp Allen’s shins. “What the hell? You have, like, _no leg hair._ Do you shave them?” He chafed his hand down Allen’s leg, and Allen dug his heel into his rib, grinning in satisfaction when the boy stopped.

“No, you jerk. I just… don’t.”

“Come on!” Alma called, thumping his heels against Kanda’s chest to propel him further. “Giddy up!”

“Say that shit one more time and you’ll end up upside down underwater,” Kanda threatened, though he still moved forward, Allen noted. Allen tapped his heel lightly too, and Lavi smacked his foot in retaliation before complying. Allen yelped at the movement, clutching Lavi’s hair again.

“I’m going to go bald,” Lavi mourned, and Allen guiltily let some of it go. He wagged his fingers in dismay as a few red strands clung to them.  Lavi noticed. “Aw, man!”

“All–right!” Lenalee said from the side. “3…2…1!”

With a gasp Allen quickly gripped Alma’s sudden hands back, struggling and laughing. He couldn’t stop laughing. He didn’t know if it was the strange feeling of riding Lavi’s shoulders, of being so high in the air, or simply just the whole absurdity of it, he just couldn’t stop laughing. Alma started too, giggling and gasping as they grappled. “Stop it!” Alma demanded between breaths, pushing forward so that Allen teetered nervously backwards.

“Dude, you’re choking me!” Lavi gasped, then without warning he stepped forward, almost bumping into Kanda who jerked back in shock. Alma wobbled at the sudden movement and Allen regained the advantage, pushing against Alma’s arms until he leaned over the small gap between them. Alma twisted sideways, jerking Allen and straining his abdomen as they balanced diagonally over the water.

“Ah!” Allen choked out, heart thumping with the fear he’d fall off Lavi’s shoulders. Sending a silent apology, he wrapped his legs tighter around Lavi and forced himself and Alma upright, immediately loosening his grasp on Lavi in repentance. Lavi gasped. Alma cracked up, and Kanda grunted over the sudden weight change.

“Go Allen!” Lenalee cheered, and Alma called back in dismay. “Go Alma!” She said next.

They struggled for what felt like an endless stretch of time but what Allen knew to probably only have been five minutes. Finally, in a dirty trick where Allen surged forward and brought his face inches away from Alma’s, he took advantage of Alma’s reflexive need to rear back and twisted his arms. Unbalanced, Kanda tried to accommodate for Alma’s sudden wrench, and Allen dug his heel into Lavi. The redhead stepped into the space Kanda created, and Allen pushed forward, then let go.

Completely bending off Kanda’s face, Alma nearly did a backflip as he fell off, and Lavi roared in laughter as Kanda was almost dunked backwards too. The long-haired teen wrenched Alma’s constricting legs from around his throat and gasped. He glared up at Allen, and the boy winked before falling backwards off Lavi, bending so that his head dipped into the water first followed by the rest of his body.

When he sprung up he slapped Lavi’s hand and laughed, bumping fists. “Hell yeah!” Lavi cheered.

“That was dirty,” Kanda sneered as Alma came up spluttering. The smaller teen gasped, then erupted into peals of laughter, smoothing away his wayward bangs.

“All is fair in love and war,” Allen quoted toothily. Lavi slapped his back cheerfully, and Allen hissed.

“Oops, I forgot,” the red-head said, patting the reddened skin in apology, then frowned. “Uh, Allen? I don’t think it hurt cause of my hand.” Allen felt a finger prod the sensitive skin. “I think you’re sunburned.”

“What?” Allen exclaimed in dismay. “But I put plenty on!” He groaned, then began wading towards the edge where the lounge chairs were. “Link!” he called, grinning when the blond was already setting the book away and grabbing the lotion. Allen folded his arms along the edge as the blond padded over on bare feet, and Allen tried to hide his grin. “Can you put it on me?”

Link rolled his eyes but nodded, and Allen twisted around. He shivered at the cold touch of the lotion on his burned skin, but relaxed as Link rubbed it in. He waited until he was positive that it was all smeared on, and without warning reached backwards for Link’s arm.

“Walker, what-“ Link started, then yelped as Allen pulled him forward and over. He ended up dunking into the water himself, but he bounced up soon enough, laughing as Link emerged spluttering. “Seriously, Walker?!” Link demanded, glaring fiercely. With a disgusted scowl Link removed the soaking sleeveless hoodie he had been wearing, baring his chest. “That is going to take forever to dry,” he remarked angrily, and Allen laughed harder.

“Th-that’s what you’re angry about? The bloody _jacket_?” Allen asked. He took the jacket without a word as he continued to chuckle, stretching the wet fabric across a dry part of the poolside.

Lavi whooped. “Good job!” He cheered, and Allen threw him a thumbs-up. Link scowled further.

“Come on, Link,” Allen cajoled. “You can’t come to a pool and then spend the entire time reading! At least swim a bit!”

“I don’t really have a choice now, do I?” Link asked dryly, and Allen shook his head, unrepentant. Link sighed. “At least I didn’t have my phone in my pocket.”

“That would’ve sucked,” Alma agreed solemnly, wading towards them. He brightened. “How about another round of chicken fight?”

 _“No.”_ Kanda thundered, frowning. “I think you took away an entire spot of hair when you fell. Fuck that.” Lenalee gasped with laughter, and Alma’s eyebrows drew in worry. He swam to hover around Kanda.

“Really?” He asked. “Really? I really tore some out? I’m so sorry, Yuu! I didn’t notice! Does it hurt? Was it a lot?” His hands fluttered frantically around Kanda’s head, and the teen spluttered before reddening slightly in dismay.

“It’s nothing!” He hissed, shoving Alma’s worried hands away. “Shut up!”

Link interrupted, to Kanda’s relief. “I am not going to do that horrible thing. It looked ridiculous.”

Before anyone could start or complain, Bak called out to them. “Hey! I made some sandwiches for you guys! Want some?”

Bak hadn’t even finished his sentence before Allen, Kanda, and Lavi were already out, clambering over each other to use the stairs before Allen plain hauled himself out over the side. Lenalee and Alma followed at a more sedate pace, and Link stared after them, aghast. “Did I really get thrown in just for this?” He demanded to no one, before sighing and trailing after them, if only to make sure Walker didn’t choke in his efforts to inhale the food.

Allen greeted Link with a food-stuffed smile, and Link sighed again


End file.
